Real life always finds funny ways to sneak into the fictional world of TV shows. One of the most unexpected challenges arises when an actress becomes pregnant in real life, even though her on-screen character isn’t supposed to be.
This requires the writers to resort to some very creative ways to hide the baby bump, resulting in some of the most unintentionally hilarious moments in TV history. Here are the top 10 times TV shows had to hide pregnancies using clever and sometimes downright funny solutions.
10. Lauren Lane in ‘The Nanny‘
For the majority of season 5 of ‘The Nanny’, Lauren Lane, who played the part of C.C., was pregnant. They followed standard procedures for hiding the bump, but also sneaked in an inside joke mocking the lengths TV shows go to hide pregnancies.
In an episode, we saw Lane walk in straight up, holding a giant sign that says “Baby” to hide her belly. And in other episodes, they used large props to cover her bump. There was no subtlety whatsoever.
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9. Betsy Brandt in ‘Breaking Bad‘
Throughout the first two seasons of ‘Breaking Bad’, we saw that Skyler White is pregnant with her and Walt’s second child. Actress Anna Gunn wasn’t pregnant, but ironically, Betsy Brandt, who plays Skyler’s sister Marie, was!
The showrunners used some well-placed bowls, purses, and pillows to hide Brandt’s bump. But it does get a chance to shine on screen. In order to lend some authenticity to Skyler’s pregnancy, the close-up shots we see in the series were actually shots of Brandt’s real belly.
8. Chyler Leigh in ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
In season 5 of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, actress Chyler Leigh, who portrayed Lexie, was pregnant. The show included baggy coats and scrubs in her wardrobe to hide her belly. However, they also added a strange storyline to explain her weight gain.
Being a doctor is no easy job, and definitely not at Seattle Grace. So, in season 5, episode 20, we see Lexie stress-eating, causing her to put on a bit of weight to match her real-life weight gain.
7. Alyson Hannigan in ‘How I Met Your Mother’
Alyson Hannigan, whom we know as the beloved character Lily from ‘How I Met Your Mother’, got pregnant in the fourth season of the show. And the showrunners had to get a little creative. Specifically in the episode “The Possimpible”, Lilly participated in a competitive speed-eating event. Her growing belly was supposed to be a result of all the hot dogs she ate.
Another instance occurred in the episode “Mobius Design,” when Lilly is offended by a joke Barney tells and leaves. The story claimed that she was so disgusted by the joke that she stayed away from the bar for four weeks. But fans knew that this didn’t fit Lilly’s personality at all, and it was because that marked Hannigan’s maternity leave.
6. Julie Bowen in ‘Modern Family’
Have you ever wondered why Claire was so obsessed with laundry baskets in the pilot of ‘Modern Family’? That’s all because Julie Bowen was around eight months pregnant at the time with twins.
Bowen was worried that her very obvious baby bump would cost her the job during her audition, and it did. It cost her one of the most iconic families in TV history. But fortunately, the showrunners simply decided to cover up her stomach for the show’s pilot by strategically placing pillows, baskets, towels, and even cereal boxes.
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5. Traylor Howard in ‘Monk’
In season 5 of the series, we got to see the vile and grade-A creep, Paul Buchanan. There is no surprise that Natalie had to dodge his advances by making up the story of her being pregnant and even stuffing a pillow into her shirt to sell the cover story.
But behind the scenes, there was actually no need for actress Traylor Howard to use a pillow because she was actually pregnant. In that episode, she was staged behind car doors, desks, and bedding, and later in this clever storyline to hide her pregnancy.
4. Zooey Deschanel in ‘New Girl’
Did you also think Jess leaving to serve jury duty in season five of ‘New Girl’ was a little too sudden? It was all because the adorable actor-singer was pregnant. Initially, the show used conventional methods like baggy clothes and hiding behind objects.
But when Deschanel had to take maternity leave, the writers came up with the idea of summoning her character, Jess, for jury duty in a high-profile case that dragged on for a month. Her absence brought in a welcome addition, and the new roommate, Reagan Lucas, played by Megan Fox.
3. Heather Morris in ‘Glee’
Were you also surprised by Britanny getting into MIT in season 4 of ‘Glee’? This character was known for her lack of intelligence and cluelessness. Or so it seemed. In the fourth season of the show, she was suddenly announced to be a secret genius. She had to leave McKinley High because she was admitted to MIT early.
Considering that just a few episodes ago, she was struggling with being held back in school, this reveal was unbelievable, but so hilariously absurd that it stuck. Eventually, she returns to McKinley High within a year, and the whole plot seems useless. The actress Heather Morris later revealed that she was pregnant during this time and didn’t want her pregnancy written into the show.
2. Kerry Washington in ‘Scandal’
The showrunners of ‘Scandal‘ turned hiding Kerry Washington’s pregnancy in the series into a national game for fans. They were amused by the number of creative ways the series had to choose to hide Washington’s bump throughout season 3.
This included everything from big coats and capes to furniture and props. They even resorted to some very creative camera angles to keep her pregnancy out of sight. Washington even gave a shoutout to the team’s effort on ‘Good Morning America’. She said that you could play a really fun game of “find the bump” in the first five episodes of the series.
1. Melissa Fumero in ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’
‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ came up with a brilliant plotline for Amy Santiago when Mellissa Fumero got pregnant, keeping her in the episodes. Early on, they chose the usual oversized clothes, bags, and even hid behind gift baskets.
As the season progressed, the show decided to send Amy undercover as a pregnant prisoner in order to get information from an inmate. Unarguably, she became the most badass mama-to-be on-screen as well as off-screen.
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